I play mostly on my Yamaha DTXplorer, and I'm looking at investing in a pair of hot-rod style sticks, after I tried a friend's and found them light and comfortable. However, as I play on an electric kit, I'm wondering if there is a potential problem as obviously I don't want to damage the pads. Anyone know the answer to this?
Also, if the wooden ones are a no-go for the electric kit, what about the plastic-fibre ones?

If you are playing an electronic kit, why not stick with using regular drumsticks instead of hot rods? I use hot rods when I play at my church, but that's just because sticks have just a little too much attack and volume to mix well with what we are playing. If I were to be using an electronic kit, I would choose to use regular sticks because they are cheaper to replace and have way better rebound than hot-rods, not to mention with an electronic kit you have a volume knob.

If it's light sticks for e-kit you're after. Try thinner sticks like 7a's.....or.....Maple sticks, they're lighter than the equivalent model in hickory.....or.....Vic Firth make a stick that's supposedly designed for an e-kit too.

Better move IMO. Hotrods are limiting when it comes to ghost notes, double strokes et al....they work well in certain applications, but for general practice they're too limiting on your playing.